Raz Malka, Nova producer, survivor and Director of Nova Market
I really believe that Beit Nova will become a home for the Nova community - a place where we can come together, spend quality time together, hold meaningful activities and events, and continue building and supporting our community for many years to come. It is incredibly important. Our community doesn’t always feel seen. There was and is so much coverage about October 7th and of those who were murdered, but there needs to be a place that keeps the Nova community itself connected and visible. How people picked themselves up, supported each other, and started to rebuild their lives.That’s what Beit Nova will be.
Itay Hamer, Head of Advocacy and Resource Development
As a Nova survivor who now works with the Tribe of Nova Foundation in advocacy and helps other survivors share their stories, I see Beit Nova as much more than a physical space. The trauma our community experienced will not be resolved overnight, and our needs will continue to evolve. We need a permanent home we can return to.
Beit Nova tells us that we are here, we belong here, and we are building a future together.
Omri Rahoum, Project Manager & bereaved brother of Nitzan Rahoum, z״l (pregnant), murdered at Nova alongside her partner, Lidor Levi, z״l, and his uncle, Avi Sassi, z”l
I believe Beit Nova can give our community something we’ve never had: a home of our own.We are scattered across the country and around the world. Today, many of our programs serve specific groups - survivors, siblings, parents, and children. Beit Nova will bring these groups together under one roof. The connections that happen naturally - in the hallways, in the elevator, on the basketball court, in the art room - can become part of the healing process itself.
Nitzan Schlesinger, bereaved daughter of Assaf Schlesinger z”l, paramedic who managed the medical response at Nova festival and was killed while treating the wounded.
After losing my father at Nova festival, today I work at the Nova organization, supporting survivors and families in telling their stories and developing programs for our community. I’m so excited for Beit Nova because it will finally give our community a home—a beautiful, welcoming space where we can bring our programs together, hold workshops and courses, offer wellness and movement activities, and simply come to be with one another.
May Chayat, Nova survivor
I believe Beit Nova will give our community something we’ve been missing: a real home. A permanent place where we can all come together and where our activities, programs, and therapies can take place under one roof.But it will be so much more than a place for activities. It will be somewhere survivors can come and simply be with one another, on the hard days and on the good days. A place where we feel safe, connected, and part of something.And I think that’s incredibly powerful: having a place where we can create new memories together, support each other, and heal together.
Keren Schem, mother of returned hostage Mia Schem and a Nova Foundation Board member.
I go to many of Nova’s wellness and community days - sometimes even more than Mia does. There is something about being with this community that I simply can’t find anywhere else. I can come and just be. I don’t have to explain what I’ve been through, because the people around me understand without words.
For so many weeks, I lived with the nightmare of not knowing whether my daughter was alive or dead. Thank God, Mia came home, but the experience left a deep imprint. As October 7 approached this year, I found myself having flashbacks. On Simchat Torah morning which was again also Shabbat, for a moment, I felt as though my daughter had been kidnapped all over again.That’s why Beit Nova means so much to me. Just knowing that there will be a permanent place I can come back to is incredibly comforting. It will be an anchor for me and for our entire community.
Dror, bereaved best friend. Dror lost seven friends on October 7, including two of his closest friends from his kibbutz, killed at Nova festival.
For a year and a half afterward, Dror could barely function and turned to illegal substances, struggling simply to survive each day. Today, Dror quite smoking after he started volunteering at Nova wellness retreats, helping serve the food, logistics and whatever else is needed for the community. He shared, “Being able to give to others is what’s saving me”. He doesn’t come to the retreats as a participant. He comes to show up for other survivors and for bereaved families. He can prepare food. He can help. He can sit with someone. If he can give one person a hug that makes his life worth living. He told us that Beit Nova will be a tremendous game changer - a place where someone like Dror can be there waiting for them, because he understands what they have lost.
At one recent wellness retreat, a bereaved woman came for the very first time. She had spent months barely functioning and had withdrawn into her home for more than a year and half. She shared that she was no longer seeing her therapist, and that coming to the wellness day was the only thing helping her find the strength to move forward. These are the moments that show us what Beit Nova is really building.
